they affociated w ith h im ! Will they affociate w ith him fa l f e gods which create
nothing, but are themfelves created; and can neither give them affiftance, nor
help themfelves ? And if ye invite them to the tru e direftion, they will not
follow you: it will be equal unto you, whether ye invite them, or whether
ye hold your peace. Verily tb s fa l f e deities whom ye invoke befides G od, are
fervants like unto you“. Call therefore upon them, and let them give y0l!
an anfwer, if ye fpeak truth. Have they feet, to walk with ? Or have they
hands, to lay hold with ? Or have they eyes, to fee with ? Or have they
ears, to hear with ? Say, Call upon your companions, and then lay a fhare
for me, and defer i t not; for God is my proteftor, who lent down the book
o f th e K or^ n ; and he protefteth the righteous. But they whom ye invoke
befides him, cannot afiift you, neither do they help themfelves and if ye call
on them to direft you, they will not hear. Thou feeft them look towards
thee, but they fee not. Ufe indulgenceb, and command that which is juft, and
withdraw far from the ignorant. And if an evil fuggeftion from Satan be
fuggefted unto thee, to d iv e r t th ee f r om thy d u ty , have recourfe unto G od ; for
he heareth an d knoweth. Verily they who fear G o d , when a temptation from
S a t a n affaileth them, remember th e d iv in e commands, and behold, they dearly
fee th e danger o f f i n , an d th e w ile s o f th e d e v il. But as for the brethren if
th e d e v ils , they Ihall continue them in error;, and afterwards they ihall not
preferve themfelves th e r e from . And when thou bringeft not a verfe o f thi
K orkin unto them they fay, Haft thou not put it together'? Anfwer, I follow
that only which is revealed unto me from my L ord. This book containetb
evident proofs from your L ord, and is a direction and mercy unto people
who believe. And when the K oran is read, attend thereto, and' keep filence;
that ye may obtain mercy. And meditate on thy L ord in thine own mind,
with'humility and fear, and without loud fpeaking, evening and morning s
and be not 'on e of the negligent. Moreover th e angels who are with my L ord,
do not proudly difdain his fervice, but they celebrate his praife and worihip
him.
C HA P .
* Are fervants like unto you;] Being fubjeft to luntary alms from the people as they could ipare.
the abfolute command of G od. For the chief But the paflage, if taken in this fenfo, wasabro-
idols of the Arabs were the fun, moon, and gated by the precept of legal alms, which was
ftars 1. '' given at Medina.
b TJfe indulgence.] Or, as the words mayalfo c Haft thou not put it together ?] i. e. Haft
be tranflated, Take the fuperabuhdant overplus; thou not yet contrived what to fay; or canft
meaning that Mohammed Ihould accept fuch vo- thou obtain no revelation from G od ?
1 See the Prelim. Difc. p. 15, Sec.
C H A P. VIII.
In ti tied, The Spoilsa; revealed at M e d in a 11.
In the name of the moft merciful G od.
THey will aik thee concerning the fpoils: Anfwer, The divifion of the
fpoils belongeth unto G o d and the apoftle s. Thereforefear G o d , and
compofe the matter amicably among you ; and obey G o d and his apoftle,
if ye are true believers. Verily the true believers are thofe whofe hearts fear
when G o d is mentioned, and whofe faith encreafeth when his figns are rehearf-
ed unto them, and who truft in their L o r d ; who obferve the ftated times of
prayer, and give alms out of that which we have beftowed on them. Thefe
are really believers : they ihall have fuperior degrees of felicity with their L o r d ,
and forgivenefs, and an honourable provifion. As thy L o r d brought thee
forth from thy houfe d, with truth ; and part of the believers were averfe to
th iireStionse: they difputed with thee concerning the truth, after it had
1 T 2 been
1 This chapter was occafioned by the high me when I had no power to difpofe of it, but
difputes which happened about the divifion now I have received authority from Gob to di-
of the fpoils taken at the battle of Bedr1, flribute the fpoils, you may take i t 3.
between the young men, who had fought, * As thy L o rd brought thee forth from thy
and the old men . who had ftaid under the boufe ;] i. e. From Medina. The particle as hav-
enfigns; the former infilling they ought to ing nothing in the following words to anfwer it,
have the whole, and the latter, that they de- Al Beidawi fuppofes the connexion to be, that
ferved a lhare z . T o end the contention, Mo- the divifion of the fpoils belonged to the prophet,
hammed pretended to have received orders from notwithftanding His followers were averfe to it,
heaven to divide the booty among them equally, as they had been averfe to the expedition itfelf.
having firft taken thereout a fifth part for the • And part of the believers were averfe to thy
purpofes which will be mentioned hereafter. direMons;] For the better underftanding of this
1 Except feven verfes, beginning at thefe . paflage, it will be neceffary to mention feme
words, Aid call, to mind when the unbelievers plot- farther particulars relating to the expedition of
ted again/thee, Sec. Which feme think were Bedr.
revealed at Mecca. Mohammed having received private mformatr-
' The divifion of the fpoils belongeth unto G od on (for which he pretended he was obliged to
ml the apoftle;] It is related that Sand Bin Abi the angel Gabriel) of the approach of a caravan
Wakkas, one of the companions, whofe brother belonging to the Koreijb, which was on its re-
Omair was flain in this battle, having killed Said turn from Syria with a large quantity of valuable
Ebn al As, took his fword, and carrying it to merchandize, and was guarded by no more than
Mohammed, defined that he might be permitted thirty, or, as others fay, forty men, fet out with
to keep i t ; but the prophet told him, that it a party to intercept it. Aha Sofi&n, who com-
was not his to give away, and ordered him to manded the little convoy, having notice of Mo.
lay it with the other fpoils. At this repulfe, hammed's motions, Tent to Mecca for fuccours;
and the lofs of his brother, Saad was greatly upon which Abu Jahl, and all the principal
difturbed; but in a very little while this chapter men of the city, except only Abu Label, march-,
was revealed, and thereupon Mohammed gave ed to his affiftance, with a body of nine hundred
him the fword, faying, You asked this fword of and
a Al Beidawi,1 See chap. 3.p. 36. Ja il a l o ’ddin. 3 JffBElDAWI.